the international olympic committee stripped lance armstrong today of the bronze cycling medal he won in the 2000 summer games. the announcement came amid reports that armstrong confessed to doping, in an interview with oprah winfrey. the interview airs in two parts, starting tonight, on her t.v. channel. the i.o.c. said the timing of its decision was unrelated to the interview. nearly all the new boeing 787 dreamliners in service have now been grounded worldwide. the jets sat idle on tarmacs today as europe, india and others grounded the 787's in their jurisdictions. two major japanese airlines and the u.s. federal aviation authority did so yesterday. boeing has delivered 50 of the cutting-edge planes so far. but at least two battery leaks, just ten days apart, have triggered safety reviews. wall street rode some upbeat economic reports to higher ground today. first-time claims for jobless benefits hit a five-year low last week, and housing starts in december were the best since the summer of 2008. in response, the dow jones industrial average gained more than 84 points to close at 1